In this post:
- What I wish I knew about long-distance relationships
- 10 things no one tells you when you’re in a long-distance relationship
Please note that this post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
What I wish I knew about long-distance relationships
Long-distance relationships are tough, and it could even be argued that they require more “work” than your average, geographically closer relationships.
But when all that hard work pays off and you finally get to see your partner after weeks or months of being apart, it can be one of the best feelings in the world. There’s nothing like being able to actually see your loved one face-to-face, and not through a cold, hard computer or phone screen.
I’m going to be honest with you. You’re going to encounter a surprisingly large amount of opposition when it comes to your long-distance relationship, and not from your partner. When my boyfriend (now husband) and I decided to commit to each other and make our relationship legit (though he was over in Australia and I was in the USA), it was then that I finally realized who my true friends and support base were.
Some of my friends had no issues in being honest and telling me that “Long-distance relationships NEVER work out.” Or that, “It’s a whole lot of work for nothing.” Or my favorite quote, “You deserve so much better!”
Well, let’s just say that those friends who dissed my relationship so much are still single, and I’m happily married to the person that they said it would “never” work out with.
That’s not to say that they’re doing something horribly wrong when it comes to their relationships. I just wish that they had been more supportive, instead of immediately assuming the worst.
Actually, there are a lot of things I wish I had heard/known when I started my long-distance relationship with my partner. That’s why I’m going to tell you 10 things that no one tells you when you’re in a long-distance relationship.
10 things no one tells you when you’re in a long-distance relationship
1. Long-distance relationships can actually work. Contrary to popular belief, long-distance relationships can definitely work out. As the world continues to globalize and become smaller, and technology continues to offer more and more options for communication, more and more couples will become long-distance. Plus, I’m living proof that long-distance love can indeed work out. My husband and I endured several periods of being on separate sides of the globe before we were married, and I firmly believe that it made our relationship stronger, as a result (see point 2).
2. Your relationship will be stronger than most geographically closer relationships. When you’re in a long-distance relationship, no one tells you that you’re going to be stronger than about 95% of normal, geographically closer relationships. Why? When you’re forced to be apart, you’re forced to trust one another, and that builds an extremely strong foundation for a relationship.
3. Not everyone will take your relationship seriously. When you tell others you’re in a long-distance relationship, you’ll see how people fail to take you and your partner seriously, especially if your partner isn’t there to meet them. To them, your partner is just some fictitious character that they’ve never seen, nor do they expect to. They may even think that you’re going through a “phase” of online love, no matter how serious you and your partner are about each other.
4. It can get expensive. Not gonna lie, but traveling back and forth between the USA and Australia just about broke my bank. When I finally decided to move overseas to be with my partner, it was then that I finally started saving money again. But was it worth it? Absolutely.
5. You’ll learn that you’re actually pretty independent. Part of being in a relationship means that you’re fairly dependent on another person. But in a long-distance relationship, you actually learn how to be independent in the relationship. When you’re forced to be apart from your partner, you can’t rely on them to physically be there for you when you need them. You learn that you’re actually a lot stronger than you ever thought you were, and that in itself is both empowering and rewarding.
6. Your family and friends may not support you. Like I said earlier, when you’re in a long-distance relationship, you’re bound to come up against some opposition. Everyone, even our closest family members and friends, told us how a long-distance relationship could never work out, and that we were wasting time on something that just wasn’t realistic. The best thing you can do when you hear words like this is to just ignore them. No one knows you better than you, and if you truly believe that the relationship is meant to be, it will be.
7. You learn to appreciate the Internet more. Thank God for Skype, Facebook messenger, and every wonderful app out there that helps you to connect to your partner!
8. Trust is EVERYTHING in a long-distance relationship. In a long-distance relationship, trust takes on a whole new meaning. Trust is the backbone of your relationship now, and without it, you and your partner won’t make it.
9. You’ll become excellent at planning and time management. Dealing with different time zones, sleep schedules, work, and life will force you to become a whiz at planning.
10. It won’t always feel super romantic, and that’s ok. I know it’s probably not what you want to hear, but long-distance relationships can’t always be romantic. Think about it, when the majority of your interactions are through a screen, it’s going to fizzle out after a little while. However, you will learn how to be best friends and companions to one another, and to be each other’s cheerleader. And as the years go by, that kind of relationship is the one that will really last.
